© Copyright – 2025 – Athletics Illustrated
Happy New Year to all the constant and occasional readers of Athletics Illustrated Magazine (AI).
As we embark on 2025, renewed hope emerges for better things to happen in the world.
This year is the 15th anniversary of Athletics Illustrated Magazine.
Some history
AI was borne from Flotrack.org. While the fledgling publication was spreading its wings in 2010, localized advertising created a conflict with Flotrack’s national advertising program. Hence, the departure.
For a spell, Athletics Illustrated joined forces with Milesplit and was the Canadian franchise for Milesplit.us. Milesplit’s attempt was to have a publication for each US state, Puerto Rico, and the company ventured into Canada by way AI.
Soon, it was determined that the fit was more about a square peg trying to squeeze into a round hole. Never shall the twain meet almost applies here.
Ironically, Milesplit and Flotrack ended up joining forces a few years ago.
Around this time, while writing occasionally for Canadian Running Magazine, I had conversations with a former editor there. It was my suggestion that the publication broaden the scope of articles outside of Canada and improve its website.
The magazine now leads Canadian content in a neck-and-neck effort with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) digital print product while reporting on the global sport. I’d like to think those conversations had some influence on the positive changes that were made.
Meanwhile, AI continues to produce content focusing on opinion, reporting, interviews with some attempts at prognostication, and investigative journalism.
Inspiring the culture of athletics
The tagline is, “Inspiring the culture of athletics.”
It is a challenge to say that reporting on doping, corruption, violence, legal issues and business news is “inspiring.” Yet, there remains an effort to interview athletes from a range of abilities such as children at a local cross-country meet to Olympic gold medallists and the many who fit somewhere in between the two — perhaps where the Twain meet.
While the turning of the calendar renews hope for the changes we wish for in the sport, it also provokes the masses to begin training anew.
Sedentary people drag themselves to the gyms, while you, the constant reader, and just about everyone involved in the sport of athletics focuses on the annual, quarterly, seasonal, monthly, and weekly training programs and goal events. This is the same as yesterday, December 31, 2024, and tomorrow, January 2, 2025. There will be no mass exodus by runners, jumpers, throwers, wheelers and walkers on January 15 or 30 back to the couch.
But admit it, today does produce a little visualization of being better, faster, stronger, more dedicated, careful (to do with injuries), and to rage, rage against the dying of the light, to borrow a Dylan Thomas line. Or read Thomas’s three-stanza poem “The Almanac of Time.”
AI (can we use the abbreviation “AI” while artificial intelligence invades?) has been known more for long-form interviews with collegiate, elite and world-class athletes. Also, coaches, scientists, and various stakeholders. While this continues, a renewed effort to return to the voice of the sport (the above stakeholders) is in the offing. And it is all human-produced, warts and all.
Holding feet to the fire
At the same time, AI will continue to do its best to name dopers and hold cheaters and authorities’ feet to the fire. There is no ambiguity here. The people, by and large, want change and to stop doping. Even dopers, in many cases, are athletes wishing that they did not have to cheat.
As Jack Nicholson said in Batman in 1989, “This town needs an enema,” this applies here. That would be an athlete either in or moving toward retirement, holding a press conference and admitting that his or her career was fuelled by doping. To admit to tremendous regret and that cheating was the only way.
This will only work with a top-name athlete coupled with the support of World Athletics, the World Anti-Doping Agency and perhaps the International Olympic Committee. To give this athlete a livable pension, if needed, so that the walls protecting the cheaters may come down.
Then, other long-term cheaters will need to follow in his or her footsteps to expose the level of doping. We will need a parade of guilty athletes to come clean. And the above organizations to fund their retirement.
It is a pipe dream. Will anyone want to watch a 14-minute or 15-minute 5000m Olympic gold medal or a 9.95 World Championships 100m win? Will the fans be entertained by a 2:20 or 2:10 women’s or men’s marathon majors win?
Probably not.
It is indeed a pipe dream. And who would be in charge of rewriting the record books, A.I.?
The good news is the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is leading the way, finding the cheaters, and using good legal processes to provisionally suspend them. The AIU seems to be making good headway. And like any democratic government, there is the chamber of sober second thoughts, just in case. This entity is the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Notice, however, that once the funding dried up in Kenya for testing in July 2024, the parade of Kenyan suspensions nearly stopped? At least the promised $5 million USD funding by the Kenyan government was a litmus test that exposed the problem.
If the funding does not return, World Athletics and the IOC need to ban Athletics Kenya and its athletes from all competitions. This should extend to plastic national athletes (Kenyans running for Bahrain, for example).
The bright side
Despite the negativity about doping, positive improvements are coming to the sport in the Diamond League, in cross-country and global and fledgling competitions.
May the sport continue to grow and evolve to generate greater interest. As we can all agree, the foundational basis for almost every other sport sits atop a strong aerobic, anaerobic, neuromuscular, and muscular system as well as physical literacy. I do not need to remind you that better fitness leads to mental and physical well-being and longevity.
To quote Neil Young, long may you run (jump, throw, walk, or wheel).
Thank you for reading.
